167. Jessica Kirson: She's the Man

Mike Birbiglia's Working It Out

Mike Birbiglia's Working It Out podcast

Mygirlfriendsboyfriend, Interviews, Comedy Interviews, Sleepwalkwithme, Iraglass, Comedy, Thankgodforjokes, Thenewone, Mikebirbiglia, Dontthinktwice, Birbiglia

4.8 • 4K Ratings

🗓️ 21 April 2025

⏱️ 60 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

After decades of being a beloved comedian’s comedian Jessica Kirson has broken out in the last few years with viral crowd work videos and a brilliant new special on Hulu called “I’m The Man.” Mike and Jessica dig deep into the nuts and bolts and emotional work of being a stand-up comic, including overcoming stage fright and dealing with hecklers. Jessica breaks down the difference between her on stage and off stage personas, and recalls her childhood which was spent listening in, with her stepbrother Zach Braff, on her therapist mother’s sessions. Plus, Mike has an awkward experience in a steam room and Jessica tells the story of when she put a heckler up against a wall.

Transcript

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0:00.0	this guy supposedly had been heckling some comics, and he was sitting in the front row.
0:04.7	And so I had heard he was like a problem, you know, buff, like, financial guy from Connecticut, white.
0:11.7	Yeah, white, yeah, yeah.
0:12.9	Big problem.
0:14.0	Yeah.
0:15.4	Don't get me.
0:16.0	I jacked up.
0:16.6	Don't get me started, Jess.
0:18.3	Even whiter than you.
0:24.4	That is the voice of the great Jessica Kerson.
0:27.0	I have been wanting to talk to Jessica Kerson on this podcast since the beginning.
0:32.6	She is a comedian's comedian.
0:34.4	She is so funny.
0:36.4	Wildly popular on Instagram, thanks to her crowdwork videos.
0:40.4	We talked about that on this episode. She's one of the few comedians who does that really well and brings artwork to that form.
0:47.7	She's a new special on Hulu. That is hilarious. It is called I'm the Man. It is so funny.
0:54.0	So we have a great chat today.
0:55.7	I mentioned this last week, but my new special is called The Good Life, which we filmed
1:01.2	at the Beacon Theater in New York City.
1:03.3	A few weeks ago, it will be on Netflix, May 26th.
1:07.4	Mark your calendars Monday, May 26th.
1:10.4	I'm so happy with how it turned out.
	...

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